Paging Dr Price
by KeDe
Summary: What really happened to Dr. Tara Price? How will it impact Ryan Wolfe?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Newly Minted Medical Examiner Axed! Stole Drugs Off Bodies!_

Alexx re-read the article for the third time. She laid the newspaper down on her desk and shook her head in disbelief. She had suspected that something wasn't right with Tara Price. Alexx didn't know much about her but the few times she had seen her, Tara had carried herself with so much pride. Cockiness even. Being coroner of Miami Dade County was no small feat. If anyone knew this, Alexx did. She had lived that life for over ten years. However, in all that time she had never done anything as stupid as stealing from the deceased, especially drugs! And consuming them! What had Tara been thinking? Obviously she hadn't been thinking. In a way, Alexx felt bad for her. Handling dead bodies all day could be enough to push anyone over the edge. At the same time her actions showed that she wasn't mature enough to handle the responsibility. Tara had been in the job for all of a minute and she was strutting around like her you-know-what didn't stink. And she was much too young to be a coroner_. _Alexx remembered that she had done a double-take when she had first seen Tara. How could they possibly think this young thing with her mama's milk still wet on her lips could possibly replace her? Well it was obvious. Tara couldn't replace her. Alexx knew she wasn't as young or as pretty as Tara Price but she was a lot smarter.

"_And so pretty,"_ the writer had gushed. This article, like the stories Alexx had read on the internet and had seen on the news was much more focused on Tara's looks than on her crime. A caller on the radio had even suggested she go into modeling. The owner of a strip club begged her to come work for him. What none of those fools seemed to understand was that fresh-faced Tara Price was looking at hard time. By the time Tara got out of prison folks will have long forgotten that she had ever been a doctor and how pretty she had been.

Alexx startled at the knock on her door.

Her boss, Dr. Henry Romson, came in and sat down. "Are you happy here, Alexx?"

Alexx was surprised but as was her custom, spoke her mind. "Are you unhappy with my work?"

Dr. Romson chuckled. "Quite the opposite. That's what has me worried."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you? I read about the incident with your replacement at the M.E.'s office. Now that she's been fired they may want you to come back."

Alexx had considered this. But no, she had no intention of going back to work in the morgue. "That was me in another lifetime, Dr. Romson. I'm happy here working with the living. Let somebody else take care of the dead."

Dr. Romson smiled as he stood up and walked towards the door. "I'm pleased to hear that."

Alexx smiled too and was still smiling even after he closed the door. Her new job at the hospital paid much more than she was making before. Plus, she had a large corner office (instead of that dungeon in the morgue), a new car leased by the hospital that she could trade in every other year if she was so inclined, and since she no longer mucked through crime scenes or sawed into bodies, she didn't have to worry about her expensive clothes getting messed up.

Alexx sat back and surveyed her plush office. Yeah, life with the living was good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Every cell in his body was telling Ryan Wolfe to turn his car around and go home. However, he rarely obeyed his instincts, which usually got him into trouble. He saw them camped out before he reached her street. The stalker-razzi camped on the lawn outside Tara's apartment. She was young, fresh meat and they were zooming in for the kill. It was a good thing Horatio had maneuvered to get the City to pick up the tab for a security detail outside the apartment. No one in or out unless they lived there or had a legitimate reason to be inside the building, and this didn't include reporters.

Ryan had often thought how pretty Tara was and had flirted with her on more than one occasion. She hadn't given him the time of day and acted as if the job was the only thing that mattered. She had seemed so dedicated, and by all accounts she had done a good job. Except for that thing with the pills.

Ryan parked a block away. Hoping to mask his identity, he pulled on a baseball cap and made his way towards the building. Ever since the story broke about Tara stealing the drugs, his picture had been in the papers and on the news at least once a day. While that was nothing compared to all the press Tara was receiving, it still made him recognizable, no matter where he went. Horatio had warned him to keep a low profile and to continue to do his job and yet, here he was, outside Tara's apartment with an army of photographers ready to snap his picture. His desire to obey Horatio came in second to his concern for Tara. She was under house arrest but hadn't answered her phone either of the half dozen times he had called. Not that she'd want to talk to him, of course. He was the one who had turned her in. But he nevertheless needed to know that she was physically okay or if she needed anything.

Ryan hurried past the photographers and reporters and put his hand up to signal he wasn't answering any questions.

"Sir, are you here to see Dr. Price?" a young reporter in a bright red suit asked.

A man gruffly pushed her aside. "What's your relation to this case?"

"Do you live in the building?" someone else asked.

An overly enthusiastic young woman screamed: "It's CSI Ryan Wolfe! He broke the case!"

By that time Ryan had flashed his badge to the security officer and had entered the building.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tara clutched them tightly in her hand as she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She dared not look at herself in the vanity mirror she had hanging in her living room. She had made that mistake a few days ago after she had gotten home. She had been shocked at how pale and drawn her face was and how sunken in her body looked. Spending a week in lock-up with only bologna sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner that you couldn't eat for fear of gagging and ultimately choking on would do that.

The knock startled her, causing her to drop the pills on the floor. She bent down, desperate to retrieve them. These were all she had with her but they would be enough to do the job, then she would be gone and wouldn't have to worry about further investigations, a trial, more salacious articles, jail time. The knock sounded again, more insistent this time. She stuffed the pills in her pockets and made her way to the peephole.

Ryan! What the hell was he doing here? She just wouldn't open the door. She didn't have to. She didn't owe him an explanation and she certainly didn't want to hear anything he had to say.

Tara went to her kitchen but couldn't remember why. The knock sounded again , followed by a jiggling of the doorknob. Who was that? She couldn't remember. She went back to the door and looked through the peephole. When she saw him she remembered. What did the bastard want? Why the hell was he bothering her? Tara snatched open the door.

"Tara, I know I shouldn't be here but I wanted to check on you. See how you're doing. Can I come in?"

"I'm just peachy, Ryan. Don't I look peachy?

Ryan refrained from telling her that she looked a damn mess. Instead he pushed his way past her into the apartment.

"I didn't invite you in, Ryan. You need to leave."

"Have you eaten?" Ryan asked, closing the door.

Tara laughed although she was not amused. "Are you kidding me? You turn me in, have me thrown in jail like a common criminal and now you're concerned about whether or not I've eaten!"

"I was simply doing my job, Tara. You know that."

"What I know is, you should be the last person looking down your nose at me. All the shit you've done. Don't get me started."

"I don't intend to. I know my past . . . and apparently, so do you. But that's all behind me now."

"Good for you, CSI Wolfe. So now that makes you uniquely qualified to be the moral authority for the rest of us."

Ryan knew he was a hypocrite. "I wanna help you, Tara."

Remembering the glass of water, Tara moved away from the door and went to her kitchen, leaving Ryan standing by the door. "I don't need your help." And she didn't. All the help she needed rested in her pocket. Once she got the water to wash them down, she'd be floating to la la land on a fluffy cloud. No more troubles, no more pain. Ever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ryan dumbly stood by the door, wondering if he should indeed leave or stay and wait until Tara came out of the kitchen. However, she certainly didn't look like she was in a state to fix herself anything to eat, although Ryan was sure she could use a good meal.

He did a quick scan of the living room. It was small and cozy, with a definite woman's touch. The dried flowers on the coffee table gave off the sweet smell of violets. The lace curtains allowed just enough of the harsh Miami sun to filter through and gave the room extra charm.

Something told Ryan that he should go into the kitchen to check on Tara but his feet remained frozen where they were. He didn't want to startle her or make her feel threatened. What if he went in and she came at him with a butcher knife? A knock on the door behind him startled him. At exactly the same time he moved to look through the peephole he heard a thump in the kitchen and the sound of a glass breaking.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 **

The noise in the kitchen caused Ryan to forget about the peephole. Instead, he threw open the door with the intent of then going into the kitchen. However, he was shocked to see Horatio and Alexx! He was so surprised that he momentarily forgot about what might have happened in the kitchen.

"Mr. Wolfe," Horatio said, by way of greeting, Ryan assumed. Or was it something else?

Ryan looked at Alexx who stared back at him with a look he couldn't place.

Horatio slowly removed his sunglasses. "Mr. Wolfe, where is Dr. Price?"

It was then that Ryan remembered! "Oh, no!" he said, rushing towards the kitchen with Horatio and Alexx right on his heels.

Tara was lying on the floor. Her head was to the side, resting on her shoulder. They could clearly see a white substance seeping from the side of her mouth. The pieces of the broken glass lay by her hand.

Before Horatio or Ryan could react, Alexx quickly grabbed a few paper towels, wrapped them tightly around her forefinger, and knelt beside Tara. "Ryan, call the paramedics! Horatio, help me here!"

While Alexx and Horatio worked on Tara, Ryan stood by, watching. Helpless.

"Hold her head back, Horatio," Alexx instructed.

What the hell? Ryan thought. He had been right here. How did he let this happen?

"Mr. Wolfe," Horatio said as he helped Alexx position Tara to clear her airways. "Go in the other room and dial 911! Now!"

Ryan jolted into action, realizing he was wasting precious time. Time that Tara might not have. He hurried into the living room while dialing 911.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

**  
**The paramedics arrived in less than seven minutes. They further stabilized Tara before strapping her to a stretcher.

While the paramedics worked, Alexx and Horatio talked quietly off to themselves. Ryan stood away from them, feeling like an interloper.

"I'm going with them to the hospital, Horatio," Alexx said. She had put the substance she cleared from Tara's mouth into a baggy and now gave it to Horatio so he could have it analyzed.

"Very good, Alexx," Horatio answered. "Call if there's any change."

"You know I will." She then squeezed Ryan's arm and hurried out the door.

"Horatio," Ryan said. "I know I shouldn't have been here, but I was worried about her."

Horatio's voice was low and measured. "Tara Price is under investigation for larceny and consumption of drugs from a State medical establishment and you're the whistle blower who just happens to be in her home when she tries to commit suicide. How do you think that's going to play out?"

Ryan took in a deep breath then exhaled. His eyes darted around the room, first resting on one object, then on another, almost as if he expected to find a suitable answer somewhere in the room. "I don't know," he admitted. And he honestly didn't.


End file.
